Mahealani Cypher of Ko'olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club supported the ceded land settlement bill at a Feb. 9 Senate hearing. - Photo: Lisa Asato

Ceded lands settlement community meetings and hearings draw large crowds

By Crystal Kua / OHA Director of Communications

Residents of Native Hawaiian communities and other places across the Islands got a front-row seat to details of the agreement reached between the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the state over past-due public land trust revenue claims.

Dozens of community meetings and legislative hearings were held from Moloka'i to Kahuku, Waimānalo to Kaua'i and at the state Capitol.

The landmark agreement, which covers claims from 1978 to 2008, ­­includes a mix of land and money valued at $200 million. The three properties in the settlement are located in Kaka'ako Makai, Kalaeloa Makai and the resort area of Hilo along Banyan Drive.

The deal also sets annual future payments at a minimum of $15.1 million. OHA waives the right to sue for future payments if the state pays that amount, but OHA also has the right to lobby for higher amounts.

The agreement, which must be approved by the state Legislature, only pertains to disputed ceded land revenue payments for the 30-year period. It does not settle ceded land ownership or overthrow claims.

The agreement was signed Jan. 17 and announced Jan. 18.

OHA partnered with the grassroots organization 'Ilio'ulaokalani which planned 21 community meetings that discussed several legislative issues including genetically modified taro, bioprospecting, a possible Constitutional Convention and the OHA settlement.

OHA also organized nine meetings that included the state attorney general in Waimānalo, Pearl City, Mā'ili, Moloka'i, Kaua'i, Honolulu, Maui, Hilo and Kona. Five of those meetings were held jointly with 'Ilio'ulaokalani.

In addition, OHA officials were invited by several organizations – including the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce, Hawaiian Civic Clubs and other community leaders – to make a presentation on the settlement details.

While OHA was in the midst of planning the meetings, the state Legislature approved a resolution calling for OHA and the state attorney general to hold community meetings and obtain public comments including suggestions for possible changes.

Some of the meetings were attended by as many as 100 or more people, with reaction and questions ranging from support for the settlement to criticism for the settlement amount and the lands chosen.

One recurring theme at the meetings included questions over why the meetings weren't held prior to the settlement being announced.

Officials said the process of negotiations itself does not lend itself to being an open process.

“This was a four-year settlement negotiation process. You don't negotiate a $200 million settlement openly,” OHA Board Counsel Robert Klein told the audience on Moloka'i.

Vicky Holt-Takamine, however, commented during the meeting, “I understand negotiations have to be confidential, and perhaps outreach to the Native Hawaiian community would not have been a breach of that confidentiality.”

The state Legislature also held its own hearings on two bills relating to the settlement. During a Saturday hearing on Senate Bill 2733, testifiers filed into the state Capitol auditorium.

That Feb. 9 hearing of three Senate committees lasted more than five hours and attracted more than 200 written or oral testimonies. Attorney general Mark Bennett testified that support for the bill was imperative to clear up legal uncertainties that have resulted in almost three decades of endless litigation over disputed income due to OHA.

He said two previous state administrations have tried to resolve the issue with OHA, but none have successfully negotiated a settlement until now. The Waihe'e and Cayetano administrations, he said, “resolved parts or parcels of the issue, but the entire issue remained unresolved. ... What we present to you is a complete and total resolution of this one issue – the obligation under Article 12 of the Constitution to pay OHA its pro-rata share of income and proceeds from the ceded lands.”

Others opposed the bill on grounds ranging from unresolved issues stemming from the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom to the unjust use of ceded lands income to benefit only Native Hawaiians.

The three state Senate panels – Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs, Water and Land, and Judiciary and Labor – later approved the measure, but Chairwoman Jill Tokuda of Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs, said the committees' approval “does not mean the agreement as written is complete, that it's satisfactory to meeting the claims for ceded lands.” Work remains to be done, she said, expressing concerns whether the settlement's annual payment of $15.1 million meets legal muster under the state Constitution's pro-rata provision, which by definition would be dynamic, not static, she said.

As of press time, the House was to hear its version of the bill, HB 266 HD1, at a Feb. 23 joint hearing of three committees: Water, Land, Ocean Resources and Hawaiian Affairs; Judiciary; and Finance.

Rep. Ken Ito, Hawaiian Affairs Committee chairman, said before the hearing that he was “very optimistic” that the House would approve a settlement bill. “This is an obligation that we have to the Native Hawaiians,” he said.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu, vice chair of Ito's committee, said the only substantive change the House made to the bill in its House Draft 1 would tie the $15.1 million annual payment to income generated by the ceded lands. So if revenues increase, the amount OHA would receive would also increase, he said. The change makes it comply with the state Constitution's pro-rata description, he said.

HB 266 HD1 retained “the meat of the original bill, so we agree with pretty much every single major point that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Lingle administration has agreed upon,” he said.

House Majority Leader Kirk Caldwell, said the House has a duty to the Native Hawaiian community to resolve the issue. “They want to honor that obligation and get this resolved so the community, and especially the older community, can begin to benefit from the income of these lands and the funds they're going to be getting (in order) to begin to improve and move forward the Native Hawaiian population.”

For information on upcoming meetings by 'Ilio'ulaokalani, see www.kuikapono.org. For information on the settlement and how to contact your lawmaker, visit www.oha.org/pastdue.

OHA Publication Specialist Lisa Asato contributed to this report.